SUNDAY VIBES
Selangor in the first half of the 19th century was almost uninhabitable. The Malay population in the 1830s was less than 10,000 and was scattered in groups over the five major rivers of Selangor — Bernam, Selangor, Klang, Langat and Lukut — with river mouths being the main settlement centres.
Revenue collection was decentralised by allotting each river valley to an influential member of the aristocracy. Apart from being inefficient, very little tax was collected from scanty trade in tin, gutta percha, rattan, hides and imported necessities like textiles, salt and rice. The sparse revenue translated to a ruling dynasty that failed to provide a strong central government.
Sultan Ibrahim passed away in 1826 and after a struggle for power, Raja Muhammad, his son by a secondary wife, acceded to the throne. Sultan Muhammad Shah was not a successful ruler as he became heavily indebted to Melaka financiers who advanced him money for his unsuccessful mining ventures in the Klang valley.
In 1839, Sultan Muhammad was threatened by his creditors with arrest for debt while passing through Melaka on his return from Riau to visit his relatives. Fortunately, the Sultan’s cousin Raja Jumaat was among the royal entourage. He secured the Sultan’s release by standing in as surety.
Soon after, Raja Jumaat and his brother, Raja Abdullah, consolidated their positions by each marrying one of Sultan Muhammad’s daughters.
Seven years later, Sultan Muhammad was careless enough to pass through Melaka and once again came within reach of his creditors. This time, Raja Jumaat took over primary responsibility of the debts which amounted to $169,000 (£35,000 at that time).
Grateful for the favour, Sultan Muhammad gave Raja Jumaat a grant in perpetuity of the territory and revenue of Lukut. That made Raja Jumaat the most powerful man in Selangor until his death in 1864. After that, Lukut fell into a long
The later years of Sultan Muhammad’s reign saw a struggle for power. During the intrigues of this tumultuous period, Sultan Muhammad’s nephew, Raja Abdul Samad strengthened his position by the familiar expedient of marrying his uncle’s daughter, Raja Atfah in 1844 and was subsequently appointed chief of the Selangor valley.
In one of Frank Swettenham’s writings, the British official related that Raja Abdul Samad was rumoured to have killed 99 men with his own hands. This wasn’t refuted by Raja Abdul Samad as it was a useful reputation to have in the murderous court circle of the 1850s.
Sultan Muhammad died on Jan 6, 1857 and Raja Abdul Samad was proclaimed the fourth ruler of Selangor with the support of Raja Jumaat. Sultan Abdul Samad’s position on the throne, however, was scarcely more secure than his predecessor. He placed his eldest son, Raja Musa in charge of Selangor valley and kept Langat valley for his own. Bernam was long held by a well-established chief who wasn’t friendly to the Sultan while Lukut, in the hands of Raja Jumaat’s sons, was no longer a source of strength.
The most contentious issue at that time was control of Klang valley, whose ruling chief was Raja Suleiman, a son of Sultan Muhammad who died before his father. In 1853, Raja Abdullah was put in charge of Klang valley. This became a source of bitter resentment to Raja Suleiman’s son, Raja Mahadi who considered it his birth right to take over his father’s fief. Unfortunately, Raja Mahadi lacked the means to take Klang valley by force. He bided his time by trading tin as a private citizen in Klang.
In 1857, Raja Abdullah succeeded in establishing his first party of Chinese miners on the upper reaches of the Klang river.